“It’s no surprise that climate change is forcing millions of people to cope with more fierce and frequent extreme weather events across the globe. What is surprising, however, is the lack of urgency political leaders demonstrate as they address it. Today’s research reaffirms that climate change is today’s problem, not tomorrow’s.

“With President Obama making the case to address climate change in the US, and the forthcoming IPCC Assessment expected to reiterate the scale of the global climate change challenge, the time for climate action is now.

“Failing to address the climate crisis today will cost us far more tomorrow. As climate change plays a larger role in extreme weather, taxpayers will need to spend more and more each year to clean-up after each and every disaster.”